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Protestors march across the 6th street bridge as they head to the Milwaukee County Courthouse to rally against President Donald Trumps policy on immigration February 13, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" is planned for Thursday in cities across the U.S.

Organizers in cities across the U.S. are telling immigrants to miss class, miss work and not shop on Thursday as a way to show the country how important they are to America's economy and way of life.

"A Day Without Immigrants" actions are planned in cities including Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Boston and Austin, Texas.

The protest comes in response to President Donald Trump and his 1-month-old administration. The Republican president has pledged to increase deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally, build a wall along the Mexican border, and ban people from certain majority-Muslim countries from coming into the U.S. He also has blamed high unemployment on immigration.

A similar protest took place in Wisconsin on Monday. Thousands marched in a "Day Without Latinos" in response to Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke's threat to crackdown on undocumented immigrants, NBC reported.

Ohio Woman Cleared of Murder Charges for Newborn

A young Ohio woman broke down in tears when she was cleared of murder charges involving the death of her newborn child. A jury cleared Brooke Skylar Richardson, 20, of aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges of a baby she had given birth to and buried in the family's backyard.

(Published Friday, Sept. 13, 2019)

Employers and institutions in some cities were already expressing solidarity Wednesday with immigrant workers. Washington restaurateur John Andrade said he would close his businesses Thursday, and David Suro, owner of Tequilas Restaurant in Philadelphia and a Mexican immigrant, said he also planned to participate.

The Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts said it would remove or shroud all artwork created by or given to the museum through Feb. 21.

In New Mexico, the state with the largest percentage of Hispanic residents in the nation, school officials worried that hundreds of students may stay home on Thursday.

"We respectfully ask all parents to acknowledge that students need to be in class every day to benefit from the education they are guaranteed and to avoid falling behind in school and life," principals with the Albuquerque Public Schools wrote in a letter to parents.

Students who take part in the protest will receive an unexcused absence, Albuquerque school officials said.

Organizers in Philadelphia said they expect hundreds of workers and families to participate.

Wreckage of Diving Boat That Killed 34 Lifted From Ocean

Conception, the boat that caught fire on Labor Day, killing 34 people on board, was lifted out of the waters off the coast of California on Thursday.

(Published Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019)

"Our goal is to highlight the need for Philadelphia to expand policies that stop criminalizing communities of color," said Erika Almiron, executive director of Juntos, a nonprofit group that works with the Latino immigrant community. "What would happen if massive raids did happen? What would the city look like?"

Almiron said that while community groups have not seen an uptick in immigration raids in the city, residents are concerned about the possibility.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is among leaders in several cities nationwide who have vowed to maintain their "sanctuary city" status and decline to help federal law enforcement with deportation efforts.